U.S. Lags in Dividend Yield Relative to Other Regions

Posted by on

The U.S. lags many regions of the world in terms of dividend yields. Hence investors looking for income can find better opportunities outside of the country. The dividend yields on US stocks have been on the decline for many years now due to tax policy and other factors. Currently the yield on the S&P 500 is just 1.32% as shown in the chart below:

Click to enlarge

Source: multpl.com

The following chart shows the dividend of various regions using the MSCI index. It shows European companies pay more than double the dividend yield of their U.S. peers. Even Emerging Markets have higher dividend yields than the U.S. The dividend culture in the US has eroded in the past few decades as the market has gravitated towards growth than income.

Click to enlarge

Source: Home bias blues? The case for international diversification, abrdn Investments

Related ETFs:

  • SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
  • iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)
  • Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)

Disclosure: No positions

A Quick Note on Ecopetrol’s Upcoming Dividend

Posted by on

Colombian oil major Ecopetrol(EC) will pay its 2nd dividend payment for the year later this month. The Ex-Dividend Date for the ADR is June 24th and the dividend will be paid on July 3rd. The Dividend amount is 3,120 Colombian pesos per DR. So at today’s exchange rate this would amount to $0.805 per DR. Of course, the actual amount paid will vary based on the exchange rate on July 3rd.

Currently there is no dividend withholding taxes charged by Colombia. So the dividend received will be the full amount for US investors. Ecopetrol closed at $12.30 on Friday and is mostly flat for the year. At the current share price the dividend yield is over 13% for 2024. This included the 1st payment of the same amount paid in April this year.

The following chart shows the YTD price returns of Ecopetrol vs. a few other oil majors:

Click to enlarge

Source: Google Finance

Earlier:

Disclosure: Long EC

The Periodic Table of Commodities Returns 2023: Chart

Posted by on

U.S. Global Investors published updated version of The Periodic Table of Commodities Returns chart with 2023 data earlier this year. Gold was the top performer last year with a return of over 13%. The worst performer was Lithium with a loss of about 82% as the craze for EV demand cooled last year.

Copper prices are soaring so far this year. The metal is up by about 25% YTD. It remains to be seen if Copper would end up as the best performing metal this year. Last year it had the second best return as shown in the chart below:

Click to enlarge

Source: U.S. Global Investors

For an interactive version of the above chart go here.

Related ETFs and companies:

  • Barclays Bank iPath Pure Beta Crude Oil ETN Exp 18 Apr 2041 (OIL)
  • Albemarle Corporation (ALB)
  • Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM)
  • SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)

Disclosure: No positions